Beginner Roadmap

The whole game on one page: what to do next, in order, with just enough to get each phase going. Every step links to the page that goes deep. The in-game First Contact tutorial (boot, power, sensors, uplink) covers phase 0; this picks up right after, when you have 2,500 credits and the Shop unlocked.

Don’t want to write the code yourself?

Starter Scripts has a working copy-paste script for every machine in phases 1-4, commented line by line for non-programmers.

The five rules that prevent most beginner pain

1. Scripts run inside machines: self is the machine, and SELF ONLY actions must run on that machine’s own script. Self & Components
2. Branch on result.status, never on result.message. Command Results
3. Throttles and enabled flags reset to 0/off when a script stops or errors, so control loops must keep running. Long-Running Scripts
4. A driving vehicle stops and clears its route if its script ends. Keep the script alive until arrival.
5. Cyclic sources (vents, wells, exotics) go dormant. Put a tank between source and consumer. Flow Networks & Fluids

Phase 1: life support and first credits

Goal: all three atmosphere pillars rising, a steady credit trickle.

1. Repair the Pressure Sensor (opens Harvesting and Contracts) and the Oxygen Sensor (opens Atmosphere). Either order.
2. Buy and deploy a Solar Generator, a Battery, and an Oxygen Generator; script the generators on. Power & Terraforming Machines
3. Earn credits your way: manual Biology clicks for the first payout, then either a Harvester grid sweep (with the Scanner) or Contracts puzzles. Choosing Your First Credit Path
4. Add a Heat Generator and Pressure Generator when credits allow. At Oxygen 1, Auto Feeders unlock item ports and the Biology chain can be automated. First Biology Loop

Phase 2: wheels and ore

Goal: a mining loop feeding a smelter. Unlocks arrive fast off the Pressure and Oxygen pillars (Research Database).

1. Pressure 0.1-0.2 unlocks Mining, the Rover, and its Nav Module, Sonar Module, Drill Module. Buy all four, mount the modules.
2. Drive to ”?” markers from Nocturna points_of_interest(), scan(), survey(), then mine() iron and silicon. First Harvesting Route
3. Buy a Vehicle Charging Station (Oxygen 9) and Storage Bins (Temperature 5); smelt ore at the Smelter (Oxygen 5). Refinement & Storage
4. Buy the Mk II generator upgrade packs as they appear (Oxygen 75, Temperature 80, Pressure 1.2).

Phase 3: steam, water, and industry

Goal: free power from the planet and the Earth Orders engine turning.

1. Steam chain (Pressure 2-3): survey a vent, build a Thermal Cap with a Constructor-equipped Pioneer, buffer through a Gas Tank, burn in a Steam Turbine. Watch pressure(); a full cap blows its steam. Thermal Vents
2. Water at Pressure 30 (Water Pump); Deep Sonar at Pressure 60; oil at Oxygen 1,500 (Oil Pump + Oil Generator).
3. Terraform Index gates the big toys: Pioneer (100k), Earth Orders + Supply Dock (110k), Outpost Kits (120k), Fabricator (130k), Control Room (150k), Drones (180k).
4. The engine: contractor orders reward recipes → the Fabricator builds parts → Supply Docks ship them → more orders unlock. Earth Orders Guide and Fabricator Recipes
5. Found your first outpost and lay pipes and power lines with Using Plan Mode and the Constructor Module. First Outpost
6. Set up Drone Depots and a Drone Service Station for freight between outposts. Coordinate scripts with the Signal Bus Guide.

Phase 4: biomass (Tier 3 begins)

Goal: the Biomass pillar moving. Unlocked at Terraform Index 210,000. Tier 3 Progression

1. Mount a Portable Bio Scanner and Bio Extractor on a drone; scan biome tiles and extract life forms. Biosphere Biomass Tier
2. An Essence Liquifier only accepts life forms from its own outpost’s biome, so found outposts across the five biomes.
3. Pipe all essences to a Biomass Mixer: more balanced essence types, more biomass. Upgrade to Mk II when it appears (Biomass 50,000).

Phase 5: plants

Goal: Forage farms converting into permanent Plants km².

1. Seed Maker (Biomass 500): blend 3 life forms per trial; most are sludge, hits are kept forever.
2. Plant seeds on the Harvester field, meet each species’ conditions (light, water, salt, neighbors), harvest Forage. Biosphere Plants
3. Plant Terraformer (Biomass 2,000) is the only converter from Forage to Plants km². Feed it and keep it enabled. Plant Terraformer Guide
4. Scale with providers as Plants rises: Sprinkler (100k), Dispenser (300k), Grow Lamp (500k), Crop Automator (620k). Mk I Terraformers stop at the Fields threshold; the Mk II pack (Plants 1,250,000) carries the final phases.

Phase 6: wildlife

Goal: revived creatures breeding in Habitats. Unlocked at Plants 2,250,000. Wildlife Overview

1. Catalog creatures: collect fragments (Bio Collector), analyze at the Bio Lab, and fill Bio Orders at the Bio Exchange. Coastal, geothermal, volcanic, and deep fragments need their biome machine first: Bio Luminizer, DNA Sequencer, Bio Caster, Bio Conditioner.
2. Bio Orders unlock feed recipes; press feed at the Feed Maker (100 Forage per batch). Feed Maker Recipes
3. Revive a cataloged creature in a Habitat with its feed plus reagents, then hold its feed, gas, and liquid bands so the colony breeds. Wildlife Husbandry
4. Exotic fluids for those bands: Exotic Husbandry (Wildlife 1,000) unlocks Exotic Gas Cap, Exotic Spring Tap, and the Refiner. Wildlife Supply
5. Colonies produce Insight; spend it on adaptations and breakthroughs. Habitat Development

Phase 7: endgame scale

Goal: nuclear power and the Continental finish line.

1. Storm economy: Weather Station + Lightning Rods, drones collecting Storm Glass and Raw Uranium. Raw Uranium is hot cargo: Lead Casks and Shield Plating only. Weather System
2. Fuel Assembler (Temperature 10,000) presses Fuel Rods; the Reactor (Terraform Index 650,000) turns them into 5,000 W; Mk IV generator packs run on rod magazines.
3. Bulk Logistics II/III multiply Supply Dock throughput; Deep Exotics and Habitat Mk II finish the Wildlife tree.
4. The Plants pillar completes at 5,000,000 km²: Continental. Everything before this was the tutorial.

Where to go deeper

The Tutorials folder walks each phase hands-on, starting with How This Game Works and ending with Expanding Production. For any machine, its page in Components Index has the exact API; for any locked tech, Research Database has the threshold; for anything else, the Quick answers table on Home probably has a row.